The first number zero comic?

Avery and I were talking about the history of comics funnily-numbered comics, today, and we were wondering what the very first number zero comic was. We knew Wizard had released a bunch of 1/2 issues, and Marvel had released all the #-1 issues in July of 1997’s “Flashback Month,” detailing a bunch of stories that took place prior to the #1 issues of each series. But what was the very first #0?

We first pontificated that it may have been 1994’s ZERO HOUR #0 from DC Comics (which was actually the sixth issue in the series, as it had a countdown gimmick – And it may have possibly been the first comic to have a countdown), but then I recalled that Valiant comics had released an X-O MANOWAR #0 around that same time. We checked, and it had a publication date of August, 1993. So, as far as we can tell, X-O MANOWAR #0 from Valiant comics was the very first number zero issue.

Can any of our loyal Comic Zoners out there help us come up with an earlier one? I think that this would be a very interesting bit of trivia to know!

Is the Sentry too powerful?

SPOILER WARNING!
This article will contain MAJOR spoilers for recent Marvel Comics titles. Specifically, SIEGE. Please do not read any further if you do not want the comics spoiled for you. You have been given very fair warning, by now. Continuing to read will give you spoilers galore. There’s an article contained within, but there are spoilers, too.

So. SIEGE #3 came out this week. And at the end, it was revealed that Norman Osborn has been controlling The Void by keeping him suppressed within Bob Reynolds, all along. This isn’t a huge surprise, as in the recent issues of DARK AVENGERS, there have been some quick interactions between “Stormin’ Norman” and the Sentry’s other half.

It has also recently been revealed that The Sentry has far more power than anybody ever expected – He has the ability to manipulate molecules in any way that he can imagine. This makes him one of the absolute most powerful superhumans in Marvel’s history. While Apocalypse has the ability to alter his own molecular structure in any way, he cannot affect the molecules of others. Say what you will about Thanos being evil, but at least when he was in control of the Infinity Gauntlet, he’s aware of the power he wields. And even The Molecule Man, who has the same abilities as The Sentry, just wants to be left alone. Molecule Man doesn’t really wish any harm on anybody that leaves him alone, anymore. And as the pre-SIEGE issues of DARK AVENGERS showed, he’s able to be reasoned with.

But The Sentry is a drug addict who is addicted to drugs that make him incomparably powerful. And he suffers from multiple personality disorder, with the distinct personalities of Bob Reynolds and The Sentry and The Void all running around in the same head, disagreeing all the time, all wanting different things. Add to that the fact that The Void is distinctively destructive, and I’m thinking that the heroes in the Marvel Universe really need to ask themselves if it wouldn’t be safer for everybody if they just destroyed Bob Reynolds and all of his multiple personalities, altogether.

Of course, at what point are Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and friends allowed to decide when somebody allowed to live or die?

I’m very intrigued to see what happens in SIEGE #4, now that The Void is decidedly the last big obstacle before the dawning of the Heroic Age.

First Friday in March

Another great First Friday. Gosh, it’s so great to be hanging out downtown. We had some great folks come by our table, and as usual, the two of us had a blast intermingling! I know it’s the bohemian in me.

Here’s a picture of Avery at our table:

Avery at First Friday 3/10

Dynamite’s RoboCop #1 Review

When I was a kid, ROBOCOP AND THE ULTRA POLICE was one of my favorite cartoons.

Granted, I had a LOT of favorite cartoons – Growing up in the mid-to-late 80s, the youngest part of my life basically consisted of cartoons and their toy tie-ins; I had dozens of action figures based on Transformers, Thundercats, Centurions, Silverhawks, The Real Ghostbusters, C.O.P.S., and more. But one of my favorite toys, amongst them all, was RoboCop.

ROBOCOP 2 came out in theatres, shortly after ULTRA POLICE ended, and I remember watching it on TV, several times. And, for a 1990 movie, it was about as badass as a movie was going to get – Far more hardcore than BATMAN had been in 1989, and way darker than the first TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. Robocop was the epitome of badass in my house, (at least, until TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY came out a year later).

And then ROBOCOP 3 happened, in 1993, followed by the ROBOCOP television series. And it was basically all downhill from there. A few years back, Dark Horse released FRANK MILLER’S ROBOCOP series, which was Miller’s version of the ROBOCOP 2 script (little-known fact: Frank Miller of Sin City and 300 fame penned the scripts for the first two Robocop films. Seriously!). And, if you didn’t have ROBOCOP 2 memorized, you’d have no idea what was going on in that comic. To say that it was bad would be giving bad comics a poor name.

So, I went into this version of Robocop, hopeful. I didn’t expect it to be great, but I think there’s still some potential to be had with Robocop and his world.

To start off, Dynamite’s comic takes place after the events of the first movie – You can tell, because there’s a small parenthetical comment inside the front cover that tells you so.

The art is serviceable. The characters all look like the actors who played them in the first film, but is otherwise kind of standard comic art from 12 years ago. The coloring is a bit too high-contrast for my tastes. But there’s nothing WRONG with it. It just doesn’t jive with me. And it’s extremely bloody, for no reason other than just because. Like it’s supposed to be shocking, which would’ve been great for a pre-1992 comic.

And the story… is ROBOCOP 2 without Cain or the “Nuke” drug. Everybody swears all over the place (Even Robocop curses), and it’s just… not original.

So what we’re left with is a comic that’s supposed to take place between the first two movies, that’s basically the same plot as the second movie that’s unnecessarily gory and has vulgarities thrown in for the sake of throwing in vulgarities.

It’s like Dynamite got the Robocop license and handed it to some random creators and said, “go.” There’s nothing original, here, and the people working on it clearly don’t have the same care for the characters that any of its fans do.

I can’t really recommend this comic to anybody, save Robocop’s blind loyalists. Which is unfortunate, because I was really looking forward to this being good. And now I’m not sure Robocop can be good, ever again.

Readers Choice Awards

This is a letter I received from our good friend, Shawn. I am passing it on to our local community and hope you all take the time to vote.

We have an opportunity to increase the profile of comic books in this year’s AZCENTRAL.COM 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards.  From now until the March 11, they are accepting open nominations for different categories.  It is a real opportunity to get comic book shops and comic book related event entered into this year’s awards and increase Comic Books in the Community profile.  The nomination process is easy.  Just go to http://www.azcentral.com/best/2010/  You can make different nominations for different categories.  To help you out I have separated some of the one’s that I think might be comic book related:

Deals:
Entertainment value for families (nominate your favorite local comic shop)
Best store deals $1 or less (nominate your favorite local comic shop with a great $1 comic bin)

People & Places
Favorite local employer less than 250 employees (nominate your favorite local comic shop)
Local hero (I would nominate Ben Glendenning, Terry Tibke, Eric Mengel or Denny Ricelli local creators who donate their time and art to local events and charities)
Best cool-off spot (nominate your local comic shop)

Arts & Entertainment
Best Annual Festival or Event (nominate Phoenix Comicon)
Best Annual Arts Festival or Event (nominate Phoenix Comicon)
Best Annual Music Festival or Event (nominate Phoenix Comicon)

Shopping & Services
Best Bookstore (nominate your favorite local comic shop)

Kid’s and Family
Best Toy or Game Store (nominate your favorite local comic shop)
Best place to play hooky with the kids (nominate your favorite local comic shop)
Best children’s book/reading event (nominate Free Comic Book Day)
Best annual kid’s event (nominate Phoenix Comicon or Free Comic Book Day)

Please pass this on to any Comic Book fans you know.  The more nominations we have for events for Free Comic Book Day and Phoenix Comicon and local comic book shop, the more awareness it provides to the community.

Shawn Demumbrum
SpazDog Comics

Captain America #602 “recalled from shelves”?

Psh, no.

Apparently, there’s this big controversy going on that Captain America #602 involves Marvel siding with/slamming the Tea Party movement, which I had not heard of until today, when a customer came in saying that Captain America #602 was recalled from store shelves everywhere, etc., etc. (Wow, a book called “CAPTAIN AMERICA,” mentioning political issues and polarizing the country, which is possibly more blindly divided now than ever before? No, THAT could never happen…)

I have not gotten a single letter from either Marvel or Diamond Comics Distributors about that issue being recalled. So that story is bunk, right off (although, he did buy all the copies of Cap 602 that we had left, so at least we made a nice sale off the guy. Hehe!).

The panel in question is below:

image taken from WashingtonTimes.com. Click to see full-size.

Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, Joe Quesada, has already released a public statement on the issue, in his newest “Cup O’ Joe” article, on CBR.

The book was getting ready to go to the printer, it was on fire already from a deadline standpoint, but the editor on the book noticed that there was a small art correct that needed to get done. On the first page featuring the protestors, the artist on the book drew slogans into the protest signs to give them a sense of reality and to set up the scene. On the following page featuring the protestors again, there were signs, but nothing written in them. From a continuity standpoint, this omission stood out like a sore thumb, but was easily fixable. So, just before the book went to the printer, the editor asked the letterer on the book to just fudge in some quick signs. The letterer in his rush to get the book out of the door but wanting to keep the signs believable, looked on the net and started pulling slogans from actual signs. That’s when he came upon this one.

And used it in the scene and off it went to the printer. Unfortunately, to make the deadline, the work wasn’t double-checked thoroughly, and it was printed as is, which is where we as an editorial group screwed up. We spoke to the letterer, and he was mortified at his mistake and was truly sorry as he had no political agenda. He was just trying to do his job, but ultimately the onus falls on me as E-i-C. All that said, we caught the mistake two weeks ago, after it was printed and removed the sign from the art files so that it no longer appears in future reprints of the title or collections. So, while the crowd protesting has nothing to do with the villains in the story, we in no way meant to say they were associated with the Tea Party movement, it was a simple perfect storm of screw-ups. It happens, we’re human.

So, there you go. It was a deadline-crunching accident made by someone who was trying to do his job, so that we could all get our copies of Cap #602 on time. And considering how poorly a job CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN was doing, in regards to shipping on time, I’m not surprised Marvel wanted to get the first new issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA-proper out on time.

So, as a warning, DO NOT go out and buy 23 copies of this comic. They will sit in your closet and rot. You will not be able to sell them for big money (unless it’s to the folks who actually, you know, READ comics like CAPTAIN AMERICA, and happened to not get this particular issue on time).

This is like the WWE (then-WWF) Al Snow action figure debacle of 1999, all over again. Al Snow was a pro wrestler who used to come to the ring with a mannequin head, appropriately named “Head.” Al’s gimmick was that he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, and he and Head would talk to each other. To show that he was nuts, he would write “HELP ME!” backwards on both his own forehead, as well as Head’s forehead. Unfortunately, when JAKKS Pacific made the Al Snow figure, the Head accessory looked a bit too much like a Barbie head for one mother. She saw the figure and, after doing exactly zero research, complained to Wal-Mart about WWF being an advocate of Al Snow murdering women, decapitating them, and carrying their disembodied heads to the ring like some kind of Devil Worshipper. Wal-Mart immediately pulled all the Al Snow figures from their shelves, causing Toys “R” Us and Target to do the same. This caused all Al Snow figures on the secondary market (like eBay) to skyrocket to absolutely ridiculous prices, with some people selling their Al Snow figures in the triple-digits. However, after all the hysteria calmed down, all the retail outlets put their Al Snow figures back on the shelves, and nobody cared.

Completists may want to buy Cap #602 to see the story with is unaltered poster signs. People like myself who buy the comic monthly will want the issue to make sure we continue collecting each month’s comic. And, really, everybody should be buying Ed Brubaker’s run on CAPTAIN AMERICA, which started in 2005, because it’s really freaking good. But the only people who are going to be getting rich of Cap #602 are the people selling you the comic at an artificially inflated price. Don’t be a sucker.

Comics are for reading. You aren’t going to get rich off anything printed in 2010.

Spider-Man Reboot: Is this really a bad thing?

So, let me preface this by saying that I enjoyed all three Spider-Man films by Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, and company. The first movie proved that you don’t need to completely redesign a superhero’s costume for the big screen, and that sticking to the source material really isn’t a bad idea. Spider-Man 2 proved that you can tell an interesting movie with a relatively uninteresting villain. Spider-Man 3 proved that there really can be too much of a good thing.

Do I want more Spider-Man movies? Absolutely. Do I want more Spider-Man movies by Sam Raimi and friends? Meh, not particularly.

I think the Raimi Trilogy was absolutely wonderful. The whole series tells a great story involving Peter, MJ, and Harry, their interactions with each other, and all three movies really hammer home the “With great power comes great responsibility” theme, especially with the villains. But, basically, they did the three biggest Spider-Man villains, and anybody that they do from here isn’t really enough to fill a full movie – Can The Rhino really carry a 90-120 minute film, all by himself? Hardly. Nor could Electro, the Lizard, or the Vulture.

Possibly to rectify this situation, reportedly, Sony pictures wanted to make a film with two villains. Raimi refused, citing that the reception to the third movie wasn’t as positive to the first two (despite the more profitable opening weekend); Without fail, the comic movies that focus on just one villain (or, in the case of X-Men, one major villain with some assorted henchmen) are always of better quality than the ones that have two. The Dark Knight is the best of all the Batman movies, and I would argue that Batman ‘89 comes in second, even above Batman Begins. And that’s not because The Joker is in both movies, but because each one only has a single villain (because, while Two-Face is present in TDK, he’s not really a proper villain, as much as a pawn in Joker’s plans), which is easier to follow than Batman Returns (which had Penguin and Catwoman), or Batman Forever (Riddler and Two-Face), or Batman & Robin (Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy). Hell, Batman Begins had two R’as Al Ghuls AND The Scarecrow! Far too complex.

So, in the wake of Raimi bailing on the project, due to these creative differences, Sony has announced a reboot to the franchise, focusing on Spider-Man’s time in high school, and it’s to be directed by (500) Days of Summer’s Marc Webb. I haven’t seen (500) Days of Summer, but I have heard naught but positive reviews for the film.

Is a full-on reboot necessary? I don’t necessarily think so. However, I do think that the story that Raimi & company were telling has run its course, and it’s time for something else. I don’t think I really want to see more of Tobey Maguire (now 35) and Kirsten Dunst (who will be 28 this year) angsting over each other anymore. We’ve had three movies of that story; Let’s move on to something else.

I think the best direction for Spider-Man is to find a new cast and to start telling random adventures of the webhead and his friends. And we could get more into Parker’s personal life. Let’s see some stories about Peter trying to date Betty Brant. That, combined with Mysterio could fill up an entire movie. Pete trying to get involved with Felicia Hardy while Spidey gets involved with The Black Cat while they take on somebody like The Kraven the Hunter could have interesting possibilities.

But, I think that Sony distancing themselves from the Raimi trilogy and moving on to something else is a good idea. It’ll breathe a breath of fresh air into the franchise. And, besides – I’d rather have SOME Spider-Man movie on the horizon than none at all.

GREG CAPULLO to take over art on HAUNT

Comic Book Resources (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24445) announced yesterday that Ryan Ottley is stepping down from the pencils on HAUNT, the new title written by Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman, and he will be replaced by Greg Capüllo. Ottley cites the pressure of pencilling two monthly titles as being too much work for him; I can’t blame him. Trying to do your best work while dividing your mind between two completely separate styles of storytelling could easily drive somebody to insanity!

As it was, HAUNT’s creative team was rather unusual – Kirkman and McFarlane wrote the book, Greg Capüllo (SPAWN, CREECH) did layouts, Ottley did pencils, and McFarlane was on digital inks. McFarlane is no stranger to inking other peoples’ work – He inked his own stuff for a long time, spent years inking Capüllo’s work on SPAWN, and, recently has been doing digital inks over Whilce Portacio’s pencils on SPAWN. But, Ottley’s best known for his work on INVINCIBLE (another Kirkman title from Image), and so HAUNT looked nothing like the artwork from either Ottley, Capüllo, or McFarlane. It was too dark to fit Ottley’s general cheery, cartoony style, and too cartoony and cheery to fit the usual work of Capüllo and McFarlane.

So, taking Ottley out of the equation, in fact, may be what the book needs to really stand out and look more like what its cover advertises. I know that the clash of art styles is what kept me away from the book. Capüllo takes over with issue 6, to be released in March, allowing the first arc to be completed by Ottley.

Maybe now’s a good time to look into the series. I’ve always been a fan of Capüllo’s work, especially when he’s drawing for Todd. I’ll give the first arc a try and let you know how it goes, Zoners.

$1.00 comics from Marvel

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Marvel have just announced a line of new comics that will be priced at just $1.00 to try and expand sales of current comics to new readers.

Official Press Release

Start Here With The Next Wave of Marvel’s Greatest Comics For Only $1.00!

Marvel is proud to announce the next wave of Marvel’s Greatest Comics imprint, spotlighting Marvel’s most-acclaimed series with new printings for only $1.00! Providing the perfect jumping-on point for new readers and a great low cost first chapter to some of the hottest selling Marvel Collected editions for retailers, Marvel’s Greatest Comics heats up in April with the following titles:

April 7: WOLVERINE #66
April 14: HULK #1
April 21: NEW AVENGERS #1
April 28: CIVIL WAR #1

“With the increased mainstream attention on comics and the new readers entering stores, Marvel wants to make sure everyone gets a chance to read our best titles,” said David Gabriel, Marvel Senior Vice-President of Sales & Circulation. “Marvel’s Greatest Comics allows fans to discover new series at a low price while also providing retailers with product they can stock on their shelves for years.”

Stay tuned for more details on Marvel’s Greatest Comics at www.marvel.com!

Not a bad idea. So, the issues we’re offered are the first part of WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN (WOLVERINE #66), the first issue of Jeph Loeb’s current HULK run, NEW AVENGERS #1, and CIVIL WAR #1. Those are all pretty popular books, which would give new readers something to talk about with people who’re already reading those titles.

I’ve noticed that since DC’s Vertigo imprint started doing $1.00 number 1 issues, sales on Vertigo books have gone up, overall. Giving readers a taste of what the book is about for a buck isn’t a bad idea, and certainly entices people to take a risk. After all, a dollar for the first issue stings a lot less than $3.99.

Here’s hoping that Marvel and DC both start offering more #1 issues at a lower price point to get readers hooked on a series.

What a first week!

Well, if you want to start the new year right, Marvel and DC certainly delivered in 2010.

BLACKEST NIGHT #6 dealt with the end of issue #5 in a fun, imaginative way, and the cliffhanger ending is absolutely fantastic – And it leaves me wondering how the events of this issue will affect the outcome of FLASH REBIRTH. Way to upsell me, DC! Will Barry Allen continue down the path of this issue, or will his change only be for the referenced 24 hours?

Meanwhile, on the Marvel side of things, SIEGE starts up this week. A four-issue event crossover is a lot easier to swallow than the 7 or 8 issues we’ve gotten the last few years, and we’re able to get right to the point. And the wonderful Bendis banter that I would’ve loved to see IN the issue is added to the back – I especially liked Bullseye/Hawkeye’s deal about how just the one God, Ares, was able to get him to shut up, and Asgard is a whole city of Gods. Absolutely brilliant.

I’m excited to see where both of these events go. The conclusions for both stories can’t get here soon enough! Good thing April is only a few months away!

Sadly, between WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, and X-Men’s SECOND COMING, nothing in 2010 looks quite as exciting as what’s going on right now. Hopefully Marvel and DC can change my mind as the year progresses!

And if you’re not checking out IMAGE UNITED, what’re you waiting for? The Image Universe is finally becoming cohesive! Spawn, the Savage Dragon, Youngblood, Cyberforce, Witchblade, Shadowhawk, Invincible, and more are all finally sharing a world, and everybody is being drawn by their respective creators, so you’re guaranteed the “proper” versions of everybody. IMAGE UNITED is a total blast. Get up in that.

Peace.